The Emily Putnam Schramm sketchbooks date from 1887 to 1889 and measure one linear inch. They accompany three obituary notices from Burlington newspapers announcing the deaths of Emily Schramm's mother Louise Ruble Putnam in 1878, Emily Putnam Schramm in 1889, and Emily's husband Charles E. Schramm on August 26, 1913. Each of the sketchbooks is dated inside the front cover, one 1887 and the other 1888. Each sketch is also dated, the last dated sketch February 21, 1889.

Emily Schramm sketched landscapes, concentrating a great deal on the Mississippi River. She labeled several of her drawings, including "Maiden's Rock," "Rush Slough," "Picnic Point," and "ShadyIsle." To one she gave a few words; she drew a boy, a horse, and a fish. She labeled each and gave the weight: "horse, 228 class," "boy (age 9) 225 lbs.," "fish, 18 lbs." She drew many isolated trees, several homesteads with meticulous detail of windows, porches, chimney and fences. One series of sketches may be self-portraits: a young woman seated at the piano, a young woman leaning against a tree, and a young woman sitting on a riverbank. She sketched mostly in pencil but occasionally used ink.